CH-7 Firing in Boilers & Types of Furnaces

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION

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CHAPTER - 7
Firing in Boilers & Types of Furnaces
1.0 Coal Firing:

1.1 Coal Firing & its techniques
In olden days adopting old design of small package boilers, hand firing was done. Even
not very long ago, locomotive engines were deployed for hauling of train compartments,
wherein only hand feeding of coal used to be done. Gradually such manual handling of
coal has been dispensed with and modern mechanical coal firing techniques have been
developed. Modern techniques of coal firing system consist of different designs such as
automatic Stoker firing, Pulverized fuel firing, Fluidized bed combustion etc.
1.2 Advantages of mechanical coal firing appliances (techniques) over hand firing:
Mechanical coal firing appliances are much superior to hand firing, as it is fired by
machine. The inherent superiority of mechanical stoker is that, coal is fired continuously
with fire doors closed, which is not possible in case of hand firing. In case of mechanical
firing, smoke nuisance is abated, excess air is reduced, there is no disturbance of fuel
bed, ash is cleaned automatically, variation in steam demand could be easily adjusted
by increasing or decreasing the firing rates and duties of boiler. In adopting mechanized
fuel firing combustion is made perfect and the combustion efficiency is improved. Due to
improved combustion unburned in flue gas is reduced to bare minimum. This can be seen
from the percentage of CO2 which otherwise in manual firing methods used to be at least
3% t6o 4% is less. Due to efficient combustion, saving of precious fuel is achieved to the
extent of about 10 to 15%, since the boiler performance and efficiency has shown
remarkable increase by 5 to 7%. Let us now study various modern mechanised methods
adopted in coal firing system.
1.3 Stoker firing system:

Different types of stokers are,
a) Chain grate stoker
b) Multiple retort stoker
c) Spreader stoker
d) Low ram cooking stoker
e) Sprinkler stokers
f) Under feed stokers
g) Pulsating stoker
Stoker-fired systems account for approximately 90 percent of coal-fired water tube
boilers. All the above Stoker firing systems can be divided into three groups: Underfeed
stokers; Overfeed stokers; and Spreader stokers. These systems differ in how fuel is
supplied to either a moving or stationary grate for burning. One important similarity
among all stokers is that all design types use underfire air to combust the coal on the
grate, combined with one or more levels of overfire air introduced above the grate. This
helps to ensure complete combustion of volatiles and low combustion emissions. Many
stokers also utilize fly ash re-injection to minimize the unburned carbon content in the fly
ash. Underfeed stokers were once the primary stoker type used in industrial and utility
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steam generation, but the high costs of maintenance and the slow response of these units
to varying loads have made them less competitive in the present market. Spreader
stokers, however, are extremely popular in industry today, due in part to their wide fuel
capability.
In general, stoker coal is fed crushed with a nominal size of less than two inches.
Overfeed and spreader stokers can be used to burn almost any type of coal or solid fuel,
including wood, wood waste, and baggasse. Coking bituminous coals, however, are not
used in overfeed stokers to avoid matting and restricting the airflow through the grate.
Coking has little effect on the performance of spreader stokers. Most packaged stoker
units designed for coal firing are of less than 100 million Btu/hr capacity. Larger units are
typically field-erected.
1.3.1 Chain Grate Stokers:

It will be of interest first, however, to consider something of the history of the chain grate
stoker in the boilers. Mechanical stokers were introduced about the year 1820; following
upon an insistence on pollution control problems and to find a solution for smoke
nuisance. Later, John Juckes patented a chain grate stoker on the lines of the machine
now familiar in so many boiler houses and when Babcock and Wilcox developed their
water tube boiler, they coupled with it the development of this chain grate stoker.
On a typical chain grate stoker the links of the chain are made of a good grade cast iron
and are narrow and deep in order to give the smallest possible amount of heat absorbing
surface. This is done, of course, so that the links shall remain cool in service. The links
are supported and kept in position by fixed bulb bars, so that no driving strains are taken
by the links themselves. Air spaces between the links are kept as fine as possible to avoid
riddling and to give good air distribution. As the links pass over the rear of the grate they
drop with a definite movement to shake fine ash free of the air spaces.
Fig. 1
Cast iron bars known as clinker dams, remove the heavy clinker and ash from the grate as
the links scrape past the noses of these dams (see Fig. 1). The clinker then drops into a pit
for periodic removal by means of deashing doors of dumping plates, which are operated
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by a lever from outside the boiler. These doors seal off air from the atmosphere when in
the normal closed position to avoid cold air being drawn into the back of the furnace.
Separate hoppers are provided under the grate for riddling and for fine ash.
The bulb bars carrying the links are bolted to an under-carriage chain, which runs on
rollers on both the service and return runs in order to reduce friction and so keep down
the driving force required.
The drive is from a shaft at the front, which has a number of sprocket wheels to engage
with the carrier chain. At the rear end, the carrier chain is guided by another set of
sprockets, each of which is mounted on a short shaft running in heavy bearings. The
driving shaft is turned slowly and continuously by an electric motor through a gearbox
giving a choice of perhaps eight speeds. A rheostat on the motor starter can sometimes
carry out further speed control.
The space between the top and the underside of the chain is divided into compartments
across the grate, and air is admitted to each compartment by a damper, which can be
regulated as required. A coal hopper is fitted at the front of the grate and feeds coal to the
grate in a steady flow. The thickness of the layer of coal carried forward into the fire is
regulated by an adjustable plate usually known as guillotine or fire door.
The operation of the chain grate stoker is a fairly simple matter. As mentioned earlier, the
thickness of the fuel bed is controlled by the guillotine fire door or regulating shutter,
while the length of the fire is controlled largely by the speed of the grate and also to some
extent by the distribution of primary air. Thickness of fire and speed of grate should be
adjusted together to give the best results. As much as possible of the grate area should be
used but the ash passing over the clinker dams should be completely dead. In the second
type, the grate surface is made up of a series of louvers in place of the grate links. Apart
from these features the stoker is broadly similar to that already described and the remarks
on operation apply equally.
The best coal for chain grate use is one having a fairly good volatile content and a low
caking index, that is to say, one which will not “cauliflower” on the grate. A certain
percentage of ash is necessary in order to protect the grate from radiant heat in the
furnace. Higher caking coals can be burned however and wetting such coals helps to
produce satisfactory fires because wetting results in making the fire uniformly porous.
Grates such as these can be used for boilers up to 250,000 pounds of steam per hour, but
for large boilers, other methods of firing have to be used and the most important of these
today is pulverized fuel firing.
1.3.2 Multiple Retort Stoker (Taylor Stoker Type):

This grate consists of alternate troughs or retorts and banks of tuyere plates, which are the
real, grate surface. The retorts are rectangular in shape and gradually reduce in depth
from front to rear of the grate. This means that the volume of each retort gradually
becomes less and less and as the coal passes down, it is forced to spill over the tuyeres or
grate surface where it can burn. The surface of the grate lies at an angle of twenty-five
degrees to the horizontal, this being the angle at which the fullest use can be made of the
force of gravity to aid the passage of the fuel bed down the grate without causing it to
slide. The retorts are placed at regular intervals across the width of the grate and their
sides form the supports for the grate surface. This grate surface consists of a number of
overlapping plates called tuyeres arranged in banks between each pair of retorts. Banks of
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half tuyeres are ribbed to form air passages and this breaks the forced draught supply into
a large number of small jets.
The coal hopper is fitted across the front of the stoker and primary rams, which are
circular plungers of cast iron 23 cm in diameter, move to and fro taking charges of coal
from the hopper, each ram forcing its charge through an entrance throat into the upper
end of a retort.
Fig. 2
The travel of the rams is fixed at 23 cm and therefore the amount of coal delivered at
each stoke cannot be varied by the operator. Theoretically the force of the primary ram
should be effective down the entire length of the retort, but in practice further rams,
commonly called pushers, are fitted in each retort to assist the passage of the fuel bed.
The number of tuyeres making up each bank and the number of pushers fitted depends
upon the length of the grate required just as the number of retorts and tuyeres banks
depends upon the width of grate required.
Each pusher can be said to feed a number of tuyeres with coal from the retort on the
forward stroke and the length of this stroke can be varied from outside the boiler by
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adding or removing U-shaped washers or different thickness to the driving rod of the
pusher. The primary rams are driven by connecting rods from crankshafts, and in turn
move bell cranks to which are attached the driving rods of the pusher. The crankshafts
vary in number according to the width of grate and are connected together by two speed
gearboxes driven by an electric motor. The speed of the rams and pushers can be varied
by a rheostat on the starter of the driving motor in addition to the two speeds of the
gearboxes. By reason of the shape of the retort from front to rear, the coal in it is in the
form of a wedge, and it is the action of this wedge of coal being forced down the retort
which moves the coal down the grate and also upwards to the grate surface. When the fire
reaches the rear of the grate the retort has practically no depth and very little coal
remains. The coke and ash at this point goes forward to an extension grate consisting
usually of fixed cast iron bars with a few moving bars which have a variable rise and fall
to agitate the residue of the fire and so complete the burning off. The clinker and ash then
move off into an ash pit fitted with crushing rollers to break up the large clinker before it
falls into the ashing sluice or the storage hopper. For this grate, coal with a medium or
high caking index is necessary for good operation and anthracites can be burned with
good results. With bituminous coals, up to 30 percent coke breeze can be added if well
mixed.
The speed of the rams alone varies the amount of coal delivered to the grate, but the
length of stroke given to each pusher is important in keeping an even fuel bed. In practice
the top pushers have the longest stoke and the travel of each succeeding pusher is
decreased. The length of travel of the bottom pusher and the level of ash in the ash pit
must be regulated together to bring the clinker out of the fire continuously and yet not
allow the fire to thin out too much at the rear end. The ash pit is sealed against the entry
of cold air by the hot ash in it and this is another reason for the careful regulations of the
height of ash in the pit.
1.3.3 Spreader Stokers:

The Spreader Stoker is a method of overfeed firing which carries out mechanically what
the human stoker does in hand firing a grate. It has been more widely in the U.S.A. than
in this country. During World War II however, when lower grades of coal had to be
burned, much trouble was experienced in power stations with stoker-fired boilers due to
boiler fouling. With pulverized fuel, boiler fouling was not found to be such a problem,
and it was thought that the spreader stoker also might offer this advantage with the added
attraction of having only to crush the coal instead of powdering it. Consequently, eight
spreader stockers were ordered in 1945 for Kearsley Power Station and the first of these
went into service in 1949.
The operation of the stoker is as follows :-
The fuel is delivered evenly over the breadth and length of the furnace where it ignites
and burns rapidly. The ash forms a protective layer on the grate surface which is in the
form of a chain grate moving slowly to the front of the furnace to discharge ash. Air from
the forced draught fan passes up through the grate and cools the ash as well as keeping
the grate at a safe temperature. There are no air compartments and the front end of the
grate is provided with air seals as shown in the General view in Fig. 3
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Fig. 3
One very essential point is that the furnace be correctly designed for this type of firing, a
high combustion chamber being necessary. To some extent the spreader stoker suffers the
same limitations as to the size of boiler possible, which are found with chain grate stokers
however, and no very great extension of their use can be foreseen.
1.3.4 Cyclone Furnace:

In direct contrast to the spreader stoker the cyclone furnace aims at bringing all the ash
from the coal, to a fluid State, and it is continuously run off and quenched. This is done to
prevent grits from passing through the boiler thereby avoiding losses due to unburned
carbon in grits and keeping the boiler free from fouling. This type of furnace has been
developed and tried in the U.S.A. and in view of the experience there, the then Central
Electricity Authority decided to install a trial unit in this country.
As with the spreader stoker crushed coal is used but the size is regulated to not more than
5 mm. the primary hot air is added at this stage and the air pressure carries the coal into
the furnace. We will discuss about the cyclone furnace in further detail in the furnace
section.
1.4 Pulverized Coal Firing:

In most of the large power plants, where fuel is coal, pulverized coal is extensively used
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in pulverized fuel firing coal is finely powdered in grinding mills before firing it
through burners and thus presence of fines in coal supplied cause no problems.
According to load conditions of boiler, fuel air ratio is required to be maintained.
Due to firing coal in pulverized form as the fuel is burnt in suspension, ash in coal
becomes air borne and is discharged with the waste gases. Therefore efficient grit
arresters including electrostatic precipitators are requested to be installed to prevent
fine particulate matter (fly ash) polluting the atmosphere. In this firing as the coal is
reduced almost to the consistency of a fluid, correct quantity of air has to be
supplied for the ignition into the furnace, so that the distillation of volatile and
their combustion is practically instantaneous. In pulverized firing much less excess air
say slightly above theoretical value is sufficient for good combustion. Adequate drying
of pulverized coal should be done as the moisture content of fuel causes problems and
higher free moisture in pulverized coals may cause difficulty in its transmission. Drying
system is generally incorporated in grinding mills.
When coal is pulverized it is ground to a flour-like fineness and injected into the
combustion chamber in a finely divided state together with the primary air. In a
pulverized fuel furnace the hydrocarbons and the carbon burn at practically the same
time.
This method of burning coal has distinct advantages:
a) The quantity of excess air can be controlled and kept down to a small percentage, thus
producing high combustion temperature and high efficiency.
b) The lower grades of coal can be burned more efficiently than by most other firing
methods.
c) The boiler is ‘flexible’, i.e. the rate of firing can be quickly changed to meet varying
loads.
d) There is no known limit to size, P.F. boilers with an evaporation of 560-700 Kg/sec
are now in service.
e) The P.F. boiler will burn a wider variety of coals with less trouble than with other
methods.
Almost any dry coal, whether high or low in volatile or ash content can be burnt but the
most suitable coal for this use contains 25% volatile and has not more than medium
caking power. Coals of lower volatile content are more difficult to burn, and require a
larger combustion space to burn them completely. These are usually burned in the “U”
flame type of furnace which maintains a high temperature immediately after the burner
mouth by the use of refractory lining of that part of the furnace.
The degree of fineness of P.F. is measured by passing it through a sieve. The size of the
sieve is specified under British Standard Specification (usually abbreviated to B.S.S.).
The sieve mesh is measured in small fractions of one inch. For example a 100 B.S.S.
sieve will have square holes, the length of each being 152 /um and the area of each hole is
0.232 mm2 and in a 200 B.S.S. sieve the length of the side of the holes will be 76 /um; the
area of each hole being (76 /um) or 0.057 mm2.
Success in burning depends on uniformity of fineness, particularly in the case of
anthracite. The normal degree of fineness required lies between 70 – 80% through a
B.S.S. 200 mesh sieve and perhaps up to 85% in the case of anthracite.
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The fuel/air mixture from the mill to the combustion chamber is usually at a temperature
of about 66`C (150`F). At temperatures higher than this there is a danger of pre-ignition
in the fuel pipeline. If this pre-ignition occurs both the mill and the pipeline may be
damaged. Also there is a tendency for some types of fuel to coke at the burner tips,
distorting the flame and lowering the efficiency.
If the fuel/air temperature is too low the moisture in the coal, instead of being vaporized
and flowing to the combustion chamber with the ground coal, is likely to collect in the
mill or fuel/air pipeline causing a partial fuel blockage and erratic fuel flow. This may
cause flame instability or complete loss of ignition. Complete choking of mills has been
known to occur due to wet coal plus low inlet air temperature. Hot air reduces the
moisture content of the fuel/air mixture to about 2%. Primary air temperatures required
for modern mills are in the region of 95`C to 205`C.
1.4.1 Types of Pulverised Fuel Furnaces:

There are three main types of furnace :
a) Dry bottom furnace
b) Wet bottom or slag tap furnace
c) Cyclone fired furnace
We will discuss in more detail about the above in the furnace section of this chapter.
1.4.2 Detailed methods of firing can be divided into:

a) horizontal firing
b) vertical firing
c) tangential firing
d) opposed wall firing
1.4.2.1 Horizontal firing:

The majority of horizontally fired boilers use what is generally termed the short flame
turbulent burner. Other burners used are the rotary burner and intervene burner. The short
flame turbulent burner is ideally suited for bituminous coals.
1.4.2.2 Vertical firing:

Low volatile coals should be fired in a vertical direction. As low volatile coals burn with
a long flame, turbulence of a type produced by the circular burner is not required.
Intimate mixing of the coal and air is obtained by dividing the secondary air and the coal
into alternate streams or by admitting the coal in a thin stream surrounded by secondary
air. The majority of the air is provided in the burner, the remainder, known as tertiary air,
is introduced progressively through the front wall at right angles to the flame path. The
flame length can be controlled by varying the secondary air.
1.4.2.3 Tangential firing:

Tangential firing was developed in Britain and is employed in I.C.L. boilers. It depends
on the maintenance of a turbulent zone in the centre of the furnace by directing a non-
turbulent flame horizontally from each corner of the furnace towards an imaginary circle
of which the flame path is tangent. An important development of tangential firing was the
use of tilting burners by which steam temperature can be controlled over a wide range of
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load and operating conditions. By tilting the fuel and air stream downwards, greater heat
absorption by the furnace is produced. The reverse effect is obtained by tilting the burner
upwards. The fig. 4 shows the control of maximum heat release zone position by tilting
burners.
Fig. 4
1.4.2.4 Opposed wall firing:
Opposed firing has been used in a few boilers, and it is fitted as Drax, where there is
ample distance between burner walls for efficient combustion from all burners.
1.4.3 Advantages of tangential firing:

When a stream of pulverized coal & air is thrown into a furnace, turbulence takes place
accelerating the combustion reactions. If a number of parallel streams are introduced, it
results in stream lined flow. In tangential firing, the projected jet of one burner strikes
another and another turbulent zone is created. Therefore in such set up, all four corners
of the furnace burners are fitted which are directly tangentially at the center. Thus the
stream of fuel and the air from each burner impinges on each other creating intensive
turbulence so vital for good combustion. Such action gives a rotary motion to the flame
which extends out filling the furnace which results in small flame length, so degree
temperature although heat liberation is high. Because instead of absorption only
radiation, large quantity of convection effect of the flame sweeps the heating surface.
1.5 Fluidized Bed Combustion:

Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) is a proven and tested technology for burning any
grade of coal or agro waste eliminating the operational problems caused by high
ash and sulphur contents. Much high quantity of coal could be consumed than other
types of fuel firing systems. Fluctuations of load could be controlled with ease due to
high thermal strong characteristics 80% or even more efficiency could be achieved by
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optimum operation practice. In this, the grate is covered with a layer of granular material
either lime, limestone and crushed coal is mixed in and air is forced through the mixture
causing it to bubble. Here the mixture burns at about half the temperature as in other
burners, which appears like boiling liquid and hence the name Fluidized Bed. At such
low temperatures lumps of ash is not formed and sulphur is absorbed by limestone and
low grade coal containing high sulphur contents could be burned without the risk of
pollution.
More of the fluidised combustion will be dealt with further in later part of this section.
2.0 Flame Monitoring Equipment:

There is a risk of spontaneous combustion of unburned pulverized fuel in a hot
combustion chamber following failure of the flame and serious furnace explosions have
occurred in the past. Therefore, a detection system capable of monitoring the furnace
conditions continuously required.
The following systems are in the process of development :
a) flame rod system
b) photo-electric cells
c) ultra-violet scanners
d) acoustic methods
e) television scanning
The flame rod system operates by utilizing the conductivity of the flame to complete an
electrical detecting circuit. An electrode rod is placed in the flame and forms an electrical
circuit consisting of the power supply, the flame rod, the flame and burner carrier tube.
This type, is only suitable for sufficiently ionisable flames, i.e., gas flames.
Photo-electric cells are of several types such as, photo emission cells, vacuum cells, gas
filled cells, photo conductive cells. These devices are generally responsive to luminous
flux and the last type, photo conductive cell, has an advantage as it is responsive to infra-
red plus visible radiation. Since there are no flames without infra-red radiation this cell
may be universally applicable to gas, fuel oil and pulverized coal. By means of a special
electronic circuit these infra-red detectors can be made sensitive to only the flicker
frequency band characteristic of the actual flame flicker. In this way the steady radiation
from hot refractory is not detected. The photo-electric devices have a disadvantage that
they do not possess the property of discrimination between several burners of a multi-
burner furnace.
The ultra-violet detector is a more recent development, the theory being that certain
oxygen-hydrogen radicals which exist in the early stage of the combustion process are the
source of the ultra-violet radiation. This explains the fact that ultra-violet radiation can be
detected in flames only when the fuel contains hydrogen and that outside the primary
combustion zone the ultra-violet radiation is very low. (Fig. 5). This last characteristic
makes these cells ideally suited for the monitoring of multiple burner boilers as the
discrimination ability of the detector is high.
An acoustic device has been developed which monitors the sound of the burner flame
relying on the fact that a healthy burner emits a particular sound and that variations from
this sound are indicative of abnormal conditions. With this system also, discrimination
between various burners on a multi-burner installation can be a problem.
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The use of closed circuit television to observe the furnace condition is another method of
flame monitoring. The very high temperatures encountered in a modern furnace are an
obvious problem in designing this type of monitor.
Fig. 5
3.0 Coal Pulverisers:

Pulverised fuel firing is a method whereby the crushed coal, generally reduced to a
fineness such that 70-80% passes through a 200 mesh sieve is carried forward by air
through pipes directly to burners or storage bins from where it is passed to burners. When
discharged into combustion chamber, the mixture of air and coal ignites and burns in
suspension.
The economic motives for the introduction and development of pulverised fuel firing are:
a) Efficient utilization of cheaper low grade coals.
b) Flexibility in firing with ability to meet fluctuating loads.
c) Elimination of banking losses.
d) Better reaction to automatic control.
e) Ability to use high combustion air temperature increasing the overall efficiency of
boiler.
f) High availability.
g) The only disadvantage is that the initial cost off equipment for preparation of
pulverised coal will be high.
3.1 Types Of Pulverisers (Depending on speed):

Milling plant may be divided into three main types depending on speed of the pulveriser-
low, medium and high speed each having its own advantages and draw-backs.
3.1.1 Low speed mill:

These are commonly known as tube ball mills and operate at approximately 17 to 20
rev/min. in most cases under suction although pressurized version is also in operation.
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Such low speed is essential with this type of mill as otherwise the balls will be held along
the rotating surface due to centrifugal force and no milling can take place.
Major advantage of the mill is that the wearable part which needs replacement between
annual overhauls is only the ball and this can be done when mill is in operation. Hence
availability of each mill can reach 100% of the boiler availability. However the gear box
and main bearing failure may reduce the availability. The main disadvantage is that the
power consumed per ton of coal pulverised is nearly twice that of the economic mills
such as bowl mills. In addition to this the power consumption is practically constant
whatever may be the load at which mill is operated thus calling for operation at or near
full load to achieve economy in operating cost.
Spare mill for maintenance purpose is not necessary due to high availability. Even though
this mill requires higher floor area, foundation and initial cost of the equipment it is
preferred by some customers because of high reliability coupled with low maintenance.
Example of Low Speed Pulveriser

The tube ball mill:
Fig. 6 consists of a large round shell or tube mounted on hollow trunions through which
the carrying air enters and leaves. The tube contains a charge of steel balls about 50 mm
diameter and as the whole mill revolves, the balls grind the coal by their tumbling motion
inside the tube. Air carries the ground coal to a classifier and coarse material is returned
again to the inlet. The speed of this mill is low, about 15 to 25 revolutions per minute,
and maintenance is low, but it takes up a lot of space, is very noisy in use and the power
consumption in KWh per ton is very high especially at partial loads. An advantage is the
reserve capacity of this mill in the event of a coal feed stoppage.
Fig. 6
3.1.2 Medium speed mills :

This is normally of vertical spindle design and operate between 30 to 100 rpm.
Combustion engineering’s bowl mill B & W’s ball and race mill and other designs are
available in the market. These are suitable for both pressurized and suction operation.
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These are most economic mills with regard to operating cost since comparatively small
mass is being rotated at moderate speed. Replace of wearable parts in between annual
overhauls is essential but facilitated by the design of mill and availability of spare mill for
each boiler.
The mills of varying capacities from 1 to 100 T/hr and even more have been designed and
in operation. Power consumption varies with loading on mill which offers maximum
efficiency when used in direct firing. In addition to the saving in operating cost, it
requires less space, less initial foundation cost, thus the mill is seen increasingly used
throughout the world.
Example of medium Speed Mills

The Raymond Bowl:
This mill is a medium speed mill with a grinding unit consisting of a fixed ring or bowl
having vertical grinding faces and within these faces, a number of arms hanging
vertically and each carrying a grinding roller.
Fig. 7
The arms hang from a frame on a rotating pedestal and, as this speeds round at form 80 to
110 revolutions per minute, the arms are swung outwards until the rollers are in contact
with the vertical faces of the fixed ring or bowl. Coal is ground in this way, and air
entering the mill base carries it up to the separating chamber at the top of the mill. The
raw coal from the mill base is brought to the grinding unit by means of ploughs which
rotate with the centre driving shaft. Fig. 7 shows the bowl mill.
Many of the Generating Board’s pulverized fuel mills in smaller stations are of the
Lopulco type shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 and this is a development of the Raymond Bowl
mill.
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Fig. 8
The bowl has been modified to form a flat circular surface and this ring rotates against
two rollers which are coupled together by a tensioning spring.
Coal is passed on to the grinding table and is crushed as it passes under the rollers; air fed
in at the base is drawn up through the mill, possibly assisted by an exhauster fan, carrying
the finely crushed coal with it to pass through a classifier at the top. This classifier may
be one of two types, the whizzer type or the cage type.
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Fig. 9
The finer coal particles are fed to the burners by the exhauster fan and the coarse particles
are separated off and returned by gravity to the grinding ring for further treatment. Hence
the mill works under suction from the exhauster. Provision is made for drying wet fuels
in the mill itself by means of preheated air led into the mill base.
A second type of mill common to the large boilers is the “Ball” type in which the
grinding elements are in the form of a large ball-bearing, the top ring of which is
stationary and the bottom one revolving. Between the two rings are the grinding balls of
forged steel which are rotated by the movement of the bottom ring. Grinding pressure
between the balls and rings is set by springs acting on the top ring and these can be
adjusted from outside the mill. Coal is fed into the middle of the top ring and is ground to
a fine powder as it finds its way between the rotating balls. It then drops over the edge of
the bottom ring and is caught up in a current of high speed hot air which sweeps it
through a classifier or separator.
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Fig. 10
This classifier is a runner made up of blades and can be driven separately so that the
correct speed to suit conditions can be used. The blades strike the larger particles of coal
and are set and shaped in such a way that these particles are thrown back to the centre of
burners with the primary hot air.
A rotating table type of feeder discharges the raw coal to the centre of the top grinding
ring, the feeder being driven by a separate motor having a speed regulator. On modern
boilers the ratio of coal to air is kept constant by means of an automatic combustion
control system so that a mixture of the right proportions is always delivered to the
burners. Changes in the rate of fuel fed to the burners are made simply by adjusting the
damper for the supply of hot air to the mill. These features may be applied equally to the
Lopulco type mill.
Any materials which cannot be ground, such as the hard impurities in the coal which are
called pyrites, are dealt with as follows. Below the bottom grinding ring is a device
known as the yoke segmental seal ring and this is fitted with ploughs which move the
pyrites round to openings in the top bearing plate. From these openings they are
discharged into chambers which can be cleaned out when necessary.
Fig. 10 shows the paths taken by the coal and air through the mill to the burners.
An essential feature of this type of mill, which works under pressure, is the air sealing
arrangement within the mill. The air sealing pressure is greater than the mill chamber air
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pressure and so prevents the crushed fuel from entering such parts as the driving gear
bore. The air seal fans are sometimes inter-locked with the main fans so that if the air seal
fans trip, the main fans also stop.
3.1.3 High speed mill

This mill is directly coupled to the motor thus eliminating speed reduction gears essential
for other type. This is run at 500 to 1000 rpm depending upon design. Beater mill, impact
mill, fan mill etc. are of this design.
This mill offers compact design, less initial cost and floor area. But the operating const
and maintenance cost is very high. Because of fast wear of hammer due to high speed
replacing of hammers once a week or even earlier may be warranted where abrasive coal
is used. High level of maintenance work involved in addition to operation and
maintenance cost, practically eliminated this mill for higher capacity boilers.
Example of High Speed Mills

The Impact Mill:
It is a high speed machine which reduces the coal either by means of fixed and moving
pegs, or by means of swinging hammers, in the swinging hammer type a number of
beater plates are mounted on a horizontal shaft and the swinging hammers are loosely
held between the plates. A casing, which is lined, encloses the machine and forms an air
chamber where the fine coal can be picked up by the incoming air and carried out through
the top of the mill to a classifier chamber. The speed of the main shaft is very high but the
mill is fairly quiet in use. Maintenance is rather high however, and, due to the high speed,
tramp iron and hard foreign matter can do much harm. Also the high speed prevents large
units of this type being made. Fig. 11 shows an impact mill.
Fig. 11
It would be true to say that the grinding mill is the heart of the pulverized fuel system and
a knowledge of its construction and working is of paramount importance. A brief survey
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of some of the types of mill used will be of interest, before passing on to a study of the
two main types of mill in present day practice.
3.2 Code of Practice with Pulverised Fuel Operation:

The following is intended only as a guide in the operation of pulverized fuel firing
equipment and a separate, detailed set of operating instructions based on this is provided
for each actual P.F. installation.
3.2.1 Definitions:
Automatic Control:
Either complete automatic boiler control initiated by steam pressure or automatic draught
control initiated by pressure in the boiler combustion chamber.
Bin and Feeder System:
A system of pulverizing plant which includes the use of receptacles for the storage of
pulverized fuel.
Classifier:
A fixed or rotating device regulating the degree of fineness of grinding.
Dampers:
Includes butterfly dampers, rubber seated valves, dust tight valves, gate valves or other
suitable type of shut-off device.
Ignition Flame:
The flame form an ignition torch used for lighting up the pulverized fuel.
Coal Mills:
Includes attritors, bowl mills, ball mills, tube mills, roller mills and similar types of
pulverizing equipment.
Unit System:
A combination of boiler and pulverizing plant which does not include any storage
capacity for the pulverized fuel.
3.2.2 General Precautions:

a) Cleanliness and Care in Operation:
a Extreme cleanliness and care in the operation of the entire plant should be observed.
The operation of pulverized fuel plant and boilers should at all times be under the
supervision of experienced operators. The Central Electricity Generating Board
Safety Rules and current regulations concerning work in fuel bunkers must be fully
understood and adhered to at all times.
b) Temperatures of Standing Mills.
The temperature of standby mills should be restricted to a maximum of 49`C (120`F)
in order to prevent any risk of spontaneous combustion of trapped coal dust. A
temperature indicator initiated from a suitable point within the mill should be
provided at the boiler control panel. This indicator should be fitted with an alarm.
c) Maintenance of Dampers and Safety Devices.
All dampers and safety devices should be maintained in good working order and
regularly checked for correct operation.
d) Loss of Coal Feed:
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A temperature alarm initiated form a point within the mill should also be provided to
warn the boiler operator of loss of coal feed. Indication of loss of coal feed can also
be provided by fitting pressure operated switches in the coal chutes or indicating
lights to show the energizing of the electro-magnetic vibrator feeding the coal
weigher or any other suitable means.
e) Unstable Firing Conditions:
Whenever the firing conditions become stable, as for instance when soot blowing is
being carried out on light load, or it is expected that unstable conditions are imminent,
an ignition flame should be immediately established in the boiler furnace.
f) Ignition Equipment:
Ignition torches should be maintained and operated in such a manner as is suitable for
the combustion of the fuel used for ignition.
g) Clearing of Classifiers and Air Casings:
The classifier and the mill air casings should be regularly examined to ensure that
they are kept in good condition, free from accumulations of coal dust and incipient
fires. The frequency of these examinations should be based on experience with the
particular plant.
h) Precipitator, Ash and Grit Collecting Hoppers. When operating conditions are
such as to lead to incomplete combustion of fuel (including oil fuel) precipitator, ash
and grit collecting hoppers should be emptied frequently to minimize the risk of
explosion when opening the hopper doors and admitting air to the unburnt fuel. If, for
any reason, the emptying of these hoppers is delayed, further steaming of the boiler
should be suspended until the cause of the delay has been rectified.
h) Tube Mills:
An adequate air flow must be maintained through tube mills should these be run for
long periods without coal, since otherwise a dangerous rise in temperature due to the
heat caused by friction may occur (Cold air to mill).
3.2.3 Conditions to be observed immediately prior to lighting up a Furnace:

Before lighting up any furnace, run the fans to clear the combustion chamber and boiler
passes of inflammable gas and dust. A flow of clean air equal to at least one half of that
required for maximum output should be passed through the furnace for at least two
minutes (Boiler purging).
3.2.4 Lighting Up A Furnace

a) In order to prevent possible explosions due to blow-back, check carefully that all
dampers are closed in the fuel supply lines from mills and exhausters which are not to
be used. It is desirable that mills should be empty of fuel before starting. (This
condition may not apply to tube mills)
b) Verify that the conditions specified in paragraph 4 have been observed and that a
correct suction has been established in the furnace.
c) Burners should be fired by an ignition torch and not by ignition from hot refractory.
Ignition torches should be located so that the ignition flame will intimately mix with
the fuel stream for an appreciable length of time and will not easily be snuffed out.
The torches should be functioning properly and kept in operation until a danger of
losing ignition has passed. The coal firing equipment should be started in accordance
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with the operating instructions particular to the installation concerned. If ignition has
not taken place in thirty seconds after fuel appears at the burner, shut off the fuel and
purge the furnace for two minutes. Before re-inserting torches and repeating the
lighting up operation, check the draughts and adjust the burners.
3.2.5 When bringing additional Burners and Mills into Service:

The procedure outlined in section 3.2.4 (c) above should be followed and under no
circumstances should any additional burner be brought into service by ignition form an
existing burner flame.
3.2.6 Loss of ignition on load:

If ignition is lost when a unit is in operation and the furnace is hot, considerable risk is
present in re-lighting, and deliberate considered action is safer than attempting hurried
changes when ignition is lost.
a. Shut down all mills and associated equipment and shut off fuels from all sources,
including any torches. If the unit is operating an automatic combustion control,
change over to manual control.
b. Purge the furnace and boiler passes of inflammable gas and dust.
c. Return the plant to pre-lighting up conditions and continue with the procedure
outlined in section 3.2.4.
3.2.7 When Shutting Down a Boiler:

When shutting down a boiler the following actions should be carried out as each mill is
taken out of service.
a. Shut off the coal feed and adjust the load on remaining mills to suit the steam demand
on the boiler. Except in the case of tube mills, ample time should be allowed for the
mill to be cleared of fuel, after which the cold air damper should be adjusted to give a
maximum mill outlet temperature of 40`C. The mill may be shut down after the mill
and its associated system have been purged. The isolating damper between the mill
and the furnace should then be shut.
b. If the mill is to be left in a standby state no further action is necessary except to
ensure that the mill temperature at no time rises above 49`C, and that the isolating
damper at the mill outlet or in the burner pipe is closed.
c. If the mill is to be opened up, special precautions should be taken to ensure that the
mill and associated equipment are completely clear of coal dust and that the mill is
completely isolated form hot air, fuel supplies, and from the furnace. After the mill
has been thoroughly cooled, the mill air casings should be cleared of any deposits of
coal or coal dust.
3.2.8 Maintenance:
When carrying out maintenance work on coal pulverizing plant the following procedure
should always be adopted:
a) The appropriate sections of Central Electricity Generating Board Safety Rules
(Generation) must be observed.
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b) Where a boiler is in service the plant should be completely isolated from the furnace,
hot air and all fuel supplies.
c) The mill should be thoroughly cooled before it is opened.
d) Immediately the mill is opened and before any work is commenced it should be
thoroughly cleared of all remaining coal and coal dust.
4.0 Firing with Oil Fuel:
4.1 Fuel Oil Systems:

Fuel oil system consists of fuel oil storage tanks, piping system, oil pump, oil meters, oil
heaters, oil strainers and burners. From fuel storage tanks, oil is transferred by pump to a
service tank which is placed at an elevation. From service tank oil is discharged to meters
and then to oil heaters, strainers and finally to burner manifold. An oil burning
installation is shown in fig. 12.
Fig. 12
The calorific value of oil fuel is higher than coal because:

a. Oil contains very little ash or water.
b. It contains a higher proportion of hydrogen which has a higher calorific value than
carbon. (CV of Hydrogen is 145,000 KJ/kg. and Carbon 33,800 KJ/kg).
There is a marked similarity between the principles used to burn oil and to burn P.F.
although the methods used are dissimilar. The essential factor in both forms of firing is to
break the fuel into fine particles. This breaking down of oil is called ‘atomising’. If
atomisation is to be efficient the viscosity must be low. Lowering the viscosity is carried
out by heating the oil before pumping it to the burner.
Fuel oil is required to be heated before it is led to the burner to maintain its viscosity to
the consistency it could be easily atomized. Therefore if fuel oil is not preheated, bad
combustion, poor atomisation, too long a flame, deposition of carbon and smoke occurs
and starting of burner is difficult.
Oil heaters are fitted with relief valve, connections for gauges, thermometers and oil
drains. Heater drains must be observed to determine the presence of oil due to leakages
into steam side. If oil leakage is found, the heater must be stopped for repairs and another
one cut into service. Oil heaters must be periodically cleaned.
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Oil temperature must be observed if it is within the limits prescribed. Excessive
preheating causes cracking and coking of oil preheaters resulting in blocked burners and
loss of heat. If higher temperature is maintained, fouling of heater will occur and carbon
deposits will be formed on the tubes. Therefore it is necessary that oil temperature must
be controlled within the specified limits.
Strainers play a pertinent part in fuel oil system. They are fitted for removing solid
particles and foreign matter in oil. Strainers must be cleaned at least once in a day or
earlier. Pressure gauge connected by a three way valve to each side of a strainer will
indicate pressure drop. Unusual pressure drop will indicate fouling of strainers.
Heated oil fuel is continuously circulated through a ring main system and the oil to the
pumping and heating units is drawn from the suction main and surplus oil is returned to
the storage tank in use, through the return main. The connection between the suction and
return mains is made through a pressure regulating valve which maintains a constant
pressure in the suction main. The return main is of smaller bore piping and from it there
are connections to each storage tank with isolating valves so that the return oil goes to the
storage tank in service. The heated oil is discharged from the pumping and heating units
through the delivery or hot filters to the individual boiler ring main which feeds the
burners. The oil can be recirculated before lighting up to ensure the oil in the individual
ring main is at the ignition temperature.
Fuel oil burners atomise oil into fine spray which when mixed with air forms a
combustible mixture and when ignited gives out intense heat. Finer the spray more
readily the oil will ignite to attain good combustion. Poor atomisation causes heavy
carbon deposits.
4.1.1 Problems likely to be encountered, when storing fuel oil are as follows:
Impurities like sludge, water, free carbon, mud, sand, wood splinters, twigs, rust, gasket
materials, pump hose shrouds and rags are likely to be found in storage tanks. Such
contaminants cause problems when firing fuel oils. Storage tank construction must be
strong and oil tight and located at a place where it readily accessible for inspection.
Storage tanks may also be calibrated. The slope of the tank should be such that impurities
collect near the drain point. Drain cock should be operated before delivery of oil. Storage
tanks must be cleaned periodically and the impurities removed. Dipstick should be
calibrated for the compartment concerned. Below 25`C furnace oil is not pumpable.
Additives may be added to service tanks to absorb water and sludge.
4.1.2 Problems arising prior to burning of oils (pre combustion problems):

Before oil is fired in the boiler it must be preheated to the required temperature, water in
oil emulsified, sludge dissipated and dissolved, and acid neutralized, corrosive elements
eliminated thus stabilizing the oil fuel.
Slagging and corrosion can be abated by use of additives.
4.1.3 The following problems are likely to be encountered in firing fuel oil:
a) When oil is not efficiently filtered oil strainers get plugged and oil heaters fouled.
b) Burner tips get plugged and fouled, which must be cleaned at regular intervals.
c) Flame impingment occurs for which the burner must b properly aligned.
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d) Incomplete combustion results when optimum air is not supplied and when
modulation of oil and air is not proper.
e) Soot formation takes place if combustion is poor.
f) When flame flutters and goes out and if oil is not smartly cut out flue gas explosion is
likely to occur.
g) Slagging on furnace is noticed due to flame impingment, oil is too viscous or too
light, high oil pressure, cold furnace and too high steam or air pressure.
h) Slag deposits may accumulate on superheater and reheater derating their
performance, and corrosion problems may arise.
i) Built up of deposits on the tubes causes blockage of gas pass due to which
impingment of flow of gases on other tubes may overheat them causing rupture.
Ash which is sulphate of alkalis and vanadium pentoxide in fuel oil are likely to cause
trouble. Melting points of such compounds are low and form thin coating on tubes.
4.1.4 Post combustion problems:

They consist of high temperature slagging and corrosion of boiler components which are
exposed to radiant heat; components subjected to low temperature corrosion, fouling and
plugging.
4.1.5 Low temperature corrosion in furnace:

a) Low temperature corrosion could be attributed to sulphur content in fuel, excess air,
flame temperature and presence of vanadium oxide precipitated on tubes if the
melting point of vanadium pentoxide is reduced in presence of ash and sulphur oxide.
b) Air heaters and economisers operating below dew point cause condensation of
sulphuric acid which results in corrosion.
c) Low temperature corrosion could be abated with alkaline additives. Injection of
gaseous ammonia also prevents such corrosion.
4.1.6 Before tuning a boiler for optimum CO2 and gas temperature at the exit and check
the following:
a) Oil pressure at the burner end.
b) Oil temperature at the burner end.
c) If burner alignment is correct.
d) If the burner block is clean and mounted properly.
e) If the air registers are in good condition.
4.1.7 After a boiler is fired check the following:

a) Check CO2 level. If at least 12% CO2 cannot be achieved by regulating air supply
burner could be defective which must be attended to.
b) Check if the temperature of gases at the stack end is within 30`C of the
manufacturer’s figure.
c) In natural draught system air could be controlled by dampers fitted before the stack
for different loads for which the gauge must be provided.
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d) If the fire side surfaces of the boiler are covered with soot and water side with scale,
higher gas temperature at the stack will be registered over a period of time. Cleaning
of boiler heating surfaces from fire and water sides cannot be overemphasized.
e) If the flue gas temperature at the stack end exceeds 38 oC above the normal value, a
boiler should be shut down for cleaning. Air infilteration reduces exit gas
temperature.
f) 3mm deposits from fire side can increase fuel consumption by 2.5%.
g) 1 mm scale deposits from water side increases fuel consumption by 5% to 8%.
h) Due to scale deposits from water side if the metal temperature exceeds beyond the
upper limit overheating occurs resulting in premature outages adversely effecting the
availability of a boiler.
4.1.8 For start up following steps must be taken:

a) Purge the boiler passages after starting the air blower.
b) Check if the burner tip is of correct size.
c) Before turning on oil, place a flame device in front of the nozzle. In automatic
modern firing equipment this no necessary as ignition takes place as per schedule.
d) Drain cold oil from furnace if any.
e) Cut in oil of specified temperature.
4.1.9 For shut down following steps must be taken :

a) First stop oil supply to burner.
b) Shut off blower after sometime to ensure that all gases are purged out from the
chimney.
c) To prevent choking in burner nozzle it must not be exposed to radiant heat of the
furnace. It must be removed out after oil is shut off.
4.2 For efficient utilization of fuel oil the following precautions are necessary:
a) Oil temperature must be maintained at the optimum value. White smoke indicates too
high temperature and heavy carbon deposits in the furnace are formed. Black smoke
indicates too low temperature.
b) Oil must be efficiently filtered and the filters cleaned periodically.
c) Maintain optimum oil pressure. Black smoke indicates too high or too low pressure.
d) Air supply must be optimum. Excess air cools the furnaces and produces white
smoke. Deficient air supply produces black smoke. Preheated air plays a pertinent
part not only in oil firing but of all fuels. By preheated air flame temperature is raised,
better combustion and heat transfer results, excess air could be reduced and heat
covered from flue gas is returned to furnace.
e) Clean the burners at regular intervals.
f) Keep all stand-by filters, pumps, and heaters in clean condition and ready for
immediate service.
g) Prevent accumulation of water in storage and service tanks as water never burns.
h) Adjust oil burners to suit the load by altering the sizes of the orifices. Do not shut off
burners to accommodate load conditions.
i) If the burner puffs or pulsate the preheating temperature must be decreased.
j) Steam and ventilate a tank before attempting to clean it.
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k) Avoid smoke. This indicates mal-operation which affects economy.
l) To prevent fire hazards adopt precautionary measures. Prevent oil leakages and
accumulation. Keep supply of sand on hand or fire extinguishers for any eventualities.
4.3 Oil Burners:

The oil burners prepare the fuel for combustion in addition to proportioning fuel and air
and mixing them. As the fuel oil gets pulverised, it surface area increases manifold and
finely dispersed fuel oil particles become intimately mixed with combustion air. Greater
the surface area exposed for combustion and better the intermixing with the air, more
complete and rapid will be the combustion process. Two ways (with many variations) are
(1) oil may be vaporized or gasified by heating within the burner or (2) oil may be
atomized by the burner so vaporization can occur in the combustion space. Vaporizing
burners (first group) are limited in range to fuels they can handle and find little use in
power plants. If oil is to be vaporized in the combustion space in the instant of time
available, it must be broken up into many small particles to expose as much surface as
possible to the heat.
Atomization is effected in three basic ways:
(a) Steam Atomization: fuel oil, at the exit of the burner, is pulverised by the atomizing
action of one or more jets of steam. In steam atomising burner oil is atomized by steam
pressure. Steam atomising burners possess the ability to burn almost any fuel oil, of any
viscosity, at almost any temperature. For heavy oil, steam atomising is preferred as due to
reaction of steam and hydrocarbons containing large number of carbon atoms simpler
substances are formed. Also that thermal advantage is obtained as steam reacts to give
increased heat by preventing the escape of unconsumed products. Steam consumption for
atomising oil is about one to five percent of steam produced.
(b) Air Atomization: fuel oil is atomized in the same way as steam atomization-the only
difference is that air instead of steam is used as the atomizing agent and the oil is forced
under pressure through a nozzle. Oil could be supplied to the burner either by gravity or a
pump which serves to carry oil to the burner tips to overcome the resistance and play no
part in atomisation. Gear pumps of positive displacement type are used to pump furnace
oil. The atomising air is supplied by blowers usually driven by electric motors and the
burner could be lighted up any time.
(c) Mechanical Atomization: fuel oil is broken down into finely divided minute particles
by means of mechanical devices by centrifugal force.
4.4 Selection of burners:

Selection of burners depends upon the following factors:
1. Range on which a burner is expected to function over a turn down ratio.
2. Condition of temperature in combustion chamber requiring preheated air.
3. Shape of flame. In wide flame, air could be easily mixed with oil droplets, resulting in
good mixture.
4. For small diameter flame if pressure jet burner is used air must be supplied by forced
draught to ensure reasonable velocity through the air register.
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4.5 Classification of burners:

The group classification of burners is based on the dynamics of droplet formation. The
following principle types of fuel oil burners have been identified:
a) Horizontal rotary cup
b) Twin fluid atomizer
c) Pressure Jet atomizer
4.5.1 Horizontal rotary cup Burner:

Horizontal rotary cup burner is the simplest oil atomizer in appearance and construction.
Its name may be traced to its water-glass or drinking cup appearance, as shown in fig. 12
Below.
Fig. 13
The cup is attached to a motor driven by a hollow shaft containing a fuel pipe terminating
in the cup in a special orifice or a tip termed a distributor. The other end of the hollow
pipe is the oil inlet port. The shaft is driven in the horizontal position by a motor at a
speed of 3-5 thousand revolutions per minute. The oil forms a thin film on the inner
surface of the spinning cup when the fuel oil is directed onto it. It slides around on itself
and starts moving two ways from the starting contact point with the cup. The portion of
oil flowing towards the closed end of the cup forms a kind of thin barrier restricting its
further movement in that direction. The flow of oil is forced towards the open end by the
centrifugal force imparted on it and this process presses the oil against the inner surface
of the cup. This results in the motion of the oil out of the open end. The thin oil film
cylinder as soon it is extruded from the spinning cup it gets broken into thousands of
small droplets. The thinner wall of the liquid cylinder the more complete its
disintegration as it escapes into the stream of the combustion air into a non-variable 180
degree pattern. The cup is griddled by an air nozzle that forms the burner snout. The
primary air stream fed through the air inlets is forced out of the air nozzle at a velocity of
10-20 thousand feet per minute depending on the firing rate of the burner. This may
correspond to 18 inches or more of water column of pressure at higher firing rates. This
envelopes and captures the oil droplets emerging out of the cup.
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In spite of this level of pressure supplying combustion air, this can meet only 15 % of the
total air requirement. The remaining air is taken into the combustion space as secondary
air through natural or mechanical draft in most case by passing the rotary burner.
A cylindrical cup generates a longer narrower flame while a conical produces a wider
shorter shape of flames. There is some flexibility available in the choice of nozzle-cup
combustion for specific burner requirements. This type of burner is best suited for use
with heavy oil as compared to light or distillate type oils.
Advantage:
i) Good atomisation.
ii) Droplets produced are more uniform in size than those produced by any other
methods.
iii) Much less sensitive to viscosity change of fuel oil.
iv) Much les liable to clogging by grit than other mechanical atomizers.
Disadvantage:
When the burner is taken shutdown, deposition of carbon particles, due to thermal
cracking of fuel oil induced by radiation heat from the hot surroundings, takes place on
the rotary cup surface, destroying its smoothness.
4.5.2 Twin Fluid Atomiser:

The so called twin fluid atomizers are designed to spray a mixture of oil and steam, the
fuel being generally introduced into the high velocity air stream in discrete jets. These are
based on the spray nozzles that have emerged as the most popular mechanism of oil
droplet preparations.
Fig. 13 below shows such a burner.
Fig. 14
These customarily operate with oil pressure less than 100 psi and more often less than 30
psi. The air pressure may vary from 3-15 psi in the medium air pressure; it may be 15 psi
or more in high air pressure burners. The dry steam pressure may vary from 25 to 175
psig. In both these versions the high pressure atomizing air remains unaltered with
change of load and demands for higher load are met through the regulation of the
secondary air. This results in higher efficiency of such system even at lower loads. For
the same reason since the atomising air forms only a small part of the total air
requirements for combustion, these burners are better suited for generation of higher
temperatures in the furnaces through preheating the combustion air. This is achieved by
feeding the comparatively colder primary air at 300 °C or so (at which effective oil
cracking may take place) through the burner and injecting the heated secondary air
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directly into the combustion zone may be used in place of compressed air as a better
atomising medium.
A typical widely used low pressure burner is shown in the fig. 14 below.
Fig. 15
Low pressure oil at 8 to 12 psi and compressed air or the atomising air at 24 “ WG
streams are brought into the atomiser through different routes, made to interact with each
other and leave through a common orifice. The amount of aeration in the mixing process
is not much although fine oil droplets formation is promoted through colloidal dispersion.
Bulk of the oil however is subjected to a centrifugal force in swirl chamber like that in a
pressure atomiser. The process of oil spray production depends on the oil-air interaction
within the nozzle. Size wise this is bigger for equivalent capacities, its orifice being about
50 times larger. Most of the designs are based on a pipe within a pipe nozzle lines as
illustrated in the above fig. The efficiency of these burners sharply gets reduced at low
loads. In a self proportioning version there is a provision for regulating oil and air flow
through a single lever.
4.5.3 The Pressure Jet Burner:

The function of the burner is to split the oil up into a fine spray, or to use a more
technical term, to atomise it, as without this treatment the heavy oil would not burn. Fig.
15 shows the construction of a pressure jet oil burner. In the pressure jet type of burner
the oil, heated usually to between 121-177`C (250-350`F) is forced under pressure
through a small hole in the tip of the burner.
These tips are discs of metal with a small hole in the centre, and it is usual to have several
sets of tips, each set having a different sized hole to suit different grades of oil. The oil
pressure at the pump will vary from 0 to 0.31 bar according to the load required from the
boiler. Small changes in load can be made by reducing or increasing the oil pressure, but
for greater load changes the number of burners in use is varied and if necessary the size
of tips used is changed also. For raising steam, only one or two burners will be used and
the number of burners increased to suit as the boiler comes on load.
It is usual to fit a mechanical safety catch on an oil burner so that the burner cannot be
withdrawn unless the oil supply valve is shut. Automatic purging by either compressed
air or steam is normally fitted to all burners and this prevents the build up of carbon in
burners temporarily withdrawn from service due to load changes. Without this purging,
the heat radiated from the furnace would carbonize any oil remaining in the burner.
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Fig. 16
The primary air for combustion is delivered around the burner and is distributed evenly
by means of an air cone or ‘register’ set in the housing, while secondary air is delivered
direct to the furnace. In front of the air cone is the burner cone or diffuser which is
considerably smaller in diameter than the air cone and serves to prevent the forced
draught from sweeping directly over the end of the burner nozzle and so chilling the
flame in addition to diffusing the oil mist. Adjustable valves are fitted around the air cone
and a master air valve is also fitted. For good combustion the flame should always be
white and clear and oil pressure and temperature, size of burner tip, and openings of air
vanes must all be adjusted to obtain this type of flame.
With oil fuel burning the regulation of oil pressure and temperature are of great
importance because too high a pressure will result in too high a rate of oil delivery at the
burner nozzle, and too high a temperature may cause the oil to carbonise in the nozzle.
The filters should be changed over as often as necessary, and burner parts kept clean at
all times. Cleaning of burners is usually necessary about once in 24 hours of steaming
and cleaning is done by soaking in paraffin or some other cleaning medium. The utmost
attention to cleanliness of the burners is essential to obtain the best results.
4.5.3.1 Sonic Burner:

A sonic burner is a modern development in firing oil fuel which is a pressure jet burner
with a sonic head attached to which connections are provided in either steam or
compressed air. This medium on passing through the sonic head gains high velocity
which produces resonance around the burner tip. Thus a powerful sonic energy is created
into which a controlled amount of oil is fed.
In such burners oil is divided into very fine particles and combustion is closed to
storichometric condition.
In such burners better heat transfer, better flame control, high degree of combustion, high
operating temperature and high turn down ratio of 1:20 can be obtained. A flame of lower
dimension can be produced in such burners and thus combustion chamber volume could
be reduced.
5.0 Firing of Gas:

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Burning of gas is easy and clean. No atomisation is required. Combustion of 1 m 3 of
natural gas requires roughly 20 m3 of hot air. Proper mixing of gas and air can be ensured
by introducing the gas into the air flow in the form of thin jets of high penetrability (see
fig. 17). Because of good mixing excess air required for the combustion is less.
Fig. 17
5.1 Combined gas fuel oil burners:

The advantage of combined gas- fuel oil burners is that the change from one fuel to other
can be done quite easily. In addition both fuel can be burned under almost optimal
condition. The natural gas and fuel oil can be burnt on furnaces of the same design due to
the following common combustion characteristics:
1. Both natural gas and fuel oil contain practically no moisture and they give rise to
roughly the same volume of combustion products. Thus the blowers of steam boiler
run efficiently irrespective of whether fuel oil or natural gas is being burnt in the
boiler furnace.
2. Combustion of either fuel takes place in the vapour state and the intensity of burning
in either case is determined by the conditions of intermixing. Combustion mechanism
is the same.
3. Both the fuels have nearly the same value of highest allowable heat release per unit
volume of the furnace. For fuel oil it is 300 kW/m3 and for natural gas it is 350
kW/m3. And as such for the same stem output of a boiler, the furnace dimensions for
these two kinds of fuel can be taken to be the same for practical purposes.
4. Both fuels are practically free from ash-formation problem upon combustion.
Therefore, clinkering of waterwall tubes does not arise and slag-handling facilities are
unnecessary. This is why furnaces for both fuels are designed with a horizontal or
slightly inclined bottom.
5. More homogenization of air-fuel mixture is possible as both fuels are in a vapour
state prior to ignition. This means virtually complete combustion with less amount of
excess air.
6. For both fuels, air can be preheated to the same temperature 250-300ºC (523-573ºK)
making it possible to install combined gas-fuel oil burner system.
7. Both fuels produce a relatively short flame core-zone near the burners during
intensive burning.
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The fig. 18 indicates the various components of s coaxial gas-fuel oil burner with central
gas supply.
1 Annular gas channel
2 Fuel oil burner
3 Tangential vanes
4 Air control gate valve
5 Flame protecting disc of gas

head
6 Air box
7 Air supply to cool the head

and disc
8 Conical port
9 Igniter channel
Fig. 18
6.0 Furnace:
6.1 Introduction:
Furnace is the primary location of a boiler, where the combustibles of a fuel is burnt in a
confined space to generate heat. The heat that is released from the burning fuel is
absorbed by the water flowing through the tubes that line the roof and walls of the
furnace. The important parts of a furnace are the fire box, tubes, stack and burners.
Furnace is designed for efficient and complete combustion of fuel, minimizing the losses.
Major factors that assist for efficient combustion inside a furnace are ‘Time of residence’
(fuel) inside the furnace, ‘Temperature’ inside the furnace and ‘Turbulence’ which causes
rapid mixing between fuel and air. Enormous heat is released in burning of fuel and the
heat is to be immediately absorbed by the water for conversion to vapour stage.
Accordingly the water circulation surrounding the furnace or the combustion region is to
be so well arranged, so that efficient transfer of heat takes place ensuring that the
metallurgy of the pressure parts are not getting over heated. Modern boilers are designed
with water cooled furnaces, with the construction of water walls on all sides. Panels of
slender pipes, connecting two long headers at the top and bottom and forming a closed
chamber of four sides of the combustion zone, are arranged as waterwalls, carrying water
under circulation. The water carried through these walls instantaneously absorbs the heat
generated in the furnace and cools the furnace tube material. Hence such furnaces are
termed as water-cooled furnaces.
6.2 Different Parts of a Furnace:
6.2.1 Firebox or combustion chamber:
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Firebox is an enclosed place in which heat is produced. It is made big enough so that all
the fuel is completely burned before striking the furnace tubes or going out of the flue gas
duct to the stack. The firebox is lined with heat resisting brick or refractory so as to
withstand high temperature without melting or splitting. The fire brick and refractory
lining also help to confine the heat within the box.
There are two sections in a fire box. They are:
a) Convection Section,
Convention Section is the extension of the fire box where the tubes are heated by the
flue gas as it goes from the fire box to the stack.
b) Radiant Section.
In the radiant section of the furnace the fuel is fired by the proximity of the tubes to
the flame and also by the heat radiating from the furnace walls.
6.2.2 Furnace Wall Tubes :

The water flows through the furnace in wall tubes usually entering bottom of the radiant
section where the temperature is the highest and up to the Convective section. Wall tubes
make the walls of the furnace, framing into a shape of a furnace.
‘Furnace width’ of a furnace is termed to denote the distance between the side walls of a
furnace.
‘Furnace depth’ of a furnace is termed to denote the distance between the front and the
rear walls of the furnace.
The wall, which is being faced while standing in front of a furnace, is called the front
wall. The wall just opposite is called rear wall. The to the right while facing the front wall
is the right side wall and the other to the left is called the left side wall
6.2.3 Stack:
It is the tall and erect structure standing at the back of a boiler, through which the flue gas
finally escapes out to atmosphere. It helps to create draft for the products of combustion
to flow out form the furnace combustion chamber towards the chimney. The draft at any
location in the furnace is the difference between the pressure at that location and the
atmospheric pressure on the outside. The cooler outside air is heavier than the hot air
inside the stack. The cold air flows in through the furnace through the air openings. This
cool air becomes hot and in turn more cold air enters the furnace. This pushes the hot flue
gas through the stack which is lighter. This way the air flow through the furnace becomes
continuous. The stack and the connecting duct must be large enough to accommodate
large volume of flue gas through the furnace
6.2.4 Burners :
Burners are mechanical devices for mixing controlled amounts of fuel and air to support
combustion at the burner tips. These burners are designed to operate on oil, coal or fuel
gas. Some of the newer burners are designed for a combination of oil and coal or oil and
gas. Furnaces equipped with combination burners can usually be fired entirely on gas or
oil or coal. Gas or the fuel oil enters through the center pipe. Air with enough velocity is
supplied or sucked in through the opening which has an adjustable damper. The amount
of air supplied / sucked in is controlled by this damper called ‘primary air damper. Air
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supplied / sucked in through primary damper is called primary air. It mixes with air in
the mixing chamber on the way to the burner tip. This is typical of pre-mix burner. This
intimate mixing improves combustion. All the air that is required for combustion cannot
be supplied by the primary air damper. The rest of the air required is supplied / sucked in
through the opening at the burner tip, called ‘secondary air damper’, by the draft in the
furnace. The additional combustion air supplied through the secondary air dampers for
support of combustion just outside the burner is called ‘secondary air’
6.3 Different Type of Furnace:
6.3.1 P.F. Fired Dry Bottom Furnaces:

These are furnaces in which slag is removed in solid state. The temperature of the furnace
combustion chamber is invariably well below the ash fusion temperature. Hence the slag
formed in the process of combustion falls down, before it can melt and start flowing as
liquid (Fig. 19).
Fig. 19
The tall rectangular radiant type furnace is the feature of the modern dry bottom
Pulverized fuel boilers. Increased height not only facilitates adequate natural circulation
but also aids reduction of furnace exit gas temperature hence less soot deposit in
superheaters and reheaters. Single furnace or multifurnace with division walls is selected
according to the size of the boiler. Multifurnace are necessary for higher capacity boilers
to provide sufficient heat transfer surface for the corresponding furnace volume required
for combustion.
Dry bottom furnace is selected for coal of non-slagging type (i.e.) fusion temperature of
the ash (produced by combustion) will be more than the temperature encountered in the
furnace. Normally a maximum of 20% total ash may be collected as slag from bottom of
furnace. The rest of ash is carried away along with flue gas and can be separated after
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boiler. If slagging type coal is used in dry bottom furnace slag will fuse and deposit in the
heat transfer surfaces of furnace, superheater and reheater where removal may pose big
problems.
Usually these types of furnaces are provided with dry bottom slag hoppers. These
hoppers are filled with water and are equipped with mechanism for removal of slag
falling into the hopper water bath. Molten slag droplets entering into the hopper water
bath are cooled immediately and the slag solidifies, before it is carried to a slag crusher
for crushing and disposing off. The water bath also acts as a hydraulic seal preventing the
entry of cold atmospheric air from beneath the furnace.
Bottom Hopper, below the furnace, is formed by sloping the front and rear walls, thus the
amount of brick work is reduced and hence maintenance is less. By this arrangement, loss
of efficiency due to evaporation of water from hopper is also effectively reduced.
Most of the Indian coals contain high amount of silica in the ash and hence ash fusion
temperatures are high. Hence dry bottom types are best suited for Indian coals. In
addition, loss of efficiency due to sensible heat in the molten ash of wet bottom furnace
which increases with ash content also favors use of dry bottom furnace for high ash
content coals.
6.3.2 Slag type or wet bottom furnace:

These furnaces are designed for removal of slag in molten state (Fig. 20). The
temperature of the combustion products in the lower portion of the furnace is should be
higher than the slag fluidity. The temperature of the combustion products should reach;
‘T’ gas > ‘T’ ash soft + (50 to 100 °C),
where the T’ gas is the gas temperature of the combustion products’ and
‘T’ ash soft is the ash fusion temperature.
Slagging type Furnaces normally are designed with two separate furnace parts. Complete
combustion of fuel takes place in the primary furnace and very high rate of heat release is
generated. At this portion of the furnace the ash gets fused and the molten slag gets
collected in the bottom ash hopper. The hot flue gases are directed into secondary
furnace, which is very similar to dry type furnace. The molten slag collected at the
bottom of the primary furnace is chilled with addition of water. Then the clinker so
formed is crushed to granular form by slag crushers for easy disposal. As the ash had to
flow from the primary furnace, coal having low melting temperature can only be used. To
obtain high temperature inside the primary furnace, which will facilitate the easy flow of
ash, very small but highly rated design is needed for primary furnace. High temperature
refractory material is used inside the primary furnace and hence maintenance is needed.
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Fig. 20
Horizontal cyclone type furnace may be more suitable, as primary furnace, where coals
with low melting point of ash are burned (Fig.21). As slag is removed in the furnace
itself, the heat transfer surfaces are kept reasonably clean.
Fig. 21
6.3.2.1 Advantages of slag bottom type furnaces:

a) Heat loss due to unburnt in bottom is reduced to one third for the same fuel, as
compared to dry bottom furnace
b) Slag bottom furnaces can be smaller than dry bottom furnace because heat release
rate per unit furnace volume is about 20% more than dry bottom type.
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c) Furnace bottom of wet bottom furnace is air tight and heat loss due to waste gases
is reduced.
d) Slag disposal is less expensive compared to dry bottom slag handling.
6.3.2.2 Disadvantages of slag bottom type furnace

a) Heat carried by the bottom ash slag is much more, sometimes higher than the heat
saved in improvement on unburnt loss
b) Highier yield of Nox due to high flame core temperature.
6.3.3 Oil fired boiler furnace:

Greater emissivity of oil flame results in a high absorption by the furnace wall surface
hence higher furnace loading is possible. Normally about 65% of furnace volume is
enough for an oil fired boiler compared to the corresponding output PF fired boiler. Oil
fired furnace is generally closed at the bottom as there is no need to remove slag as in the
case of PF fired boiler. Bottom will have small amount of slope to prevent film boiling in
the bottom tubes.
If boiler has to be designed for both PF as well as oil, the furnace has to be designed for
coal as otherwise higher heat loading with PF will cause slagging and high furnace exit
gas temperature. Superheaters and reheaters may have to be designed for operation of oil
in the furnace designed for coal, otherwise superheater outlet temperature may not be
obtainable. However ratio of heat transfer between evaporation and superheating can be
varied using burner tilting and/or gas recirculation.
6.3.4 Construction of Water Cooled Boiler Furnace:

Furnace wall construction has gone through various stages of development from
conventional refractory backed walls to present day fusion welded panels also known as
“membrane panels”.
The other well-known construction is “tangent tubes”. In the “tangent tubes”
construction (See Fig. 22), the water wall tubes are placed in close pitches such that they
practically touch each other.
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Welded Wall arrangement Skin cased (Tangent tube) arrangement
Fig. 22
Small amount of insulation and boiler casing are slung with the tubes from the building
structure. The independently supported casing with its associated heavy buck-stays used
in the earlier (refractory type construction) type is thus eliminated. Generally the chosen
ratio of front width to furnace depth is 1 : 1.2. These type of tangential tubes construction
are the widest in use in high capacity boilers, because the heat generation capacity is very
high and also the heat release and distribution is uniform to furnace walls.
In “membrane wall construction” the tubes are placed side by side with a gap of about
12 mm and the tubes are joined by welding a continuous longitudinal strip on both the
tubes thus making like a panel at the manufacturer’s works itself. The length and width of
panel is limited by transportation consideration only. The panels in turn are welded
together at site to form the complete furnace. Thus the total amount of welding work at
site is limited to very great extent thus facilitating easy erection and high quality welds.
Air infiltration, which will reduce the efficiency of boiler is greatly reduced by use of
these types of construction. Membrane type construction also facilitates use of
pressurized firing in furnace, which will eliminate one of the boiler house auxiliary-ID
fan.
Provision for free expansion of furnace tubes is vital in all cases and it is normal for tube
walls to be entirely suspended from the top of the structural members so that all
expansion is taking place in a downward direction. 40 metres high furnace will have
roughly 125 mm expansion due to temperature change alone during boiler operation.
and wind load is The furnace is contained in position and load created by furnace
pressure, seismic safely transmitted by special supports called buck-stays which is
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carefully designed such that it does not restrict in any way the free movement required
due to temperature change.
6.3.4.1 Advantages of a water-cooled furnace:

a) In furnace not only combustion but also heat transfer is taking place simultaneously.
b) The maintenance work involved in repairing the fire bricks (which is otherwise
necessary) is practically eliminated.
c) Due to heat transfer in the furnace, temperature of the flue gas leaving the furnace is
reduced to the acceptable level of the superheating surfaces.
d) Higher heat loading in the furnace is possible as heat is being simultaneously
removed by heat transfer, and hence economy in surfacing.
6.3.4.2 Additional points to be considered while designing water cooled furnaces:

a) The height, size and surface area of furnace water walls are so chosen for a natural
circulation boiler, such that adequate water circulation in the furnace tubes is always
ensured.
b) Care is taken in deciding the size of furnace and location of burners so that flame
does not impinge on any furnace tubes.
c) Care is taken to ensue circulating water is uniformly distributed in all tubes of the
water wall and at the same time uniform heat absorption is taking place over the
entire heating surface.
d) Shape of furnace to ensure gas path which will ‘fill’ the furnace and hence provide
maximum absorption.
e) Care to design required volume of furnace to ensure required velocity of products of
combustion, which will ensure sufficient retention time for the coal particles to get
ignited and burn completely.
f) Care is taken to see that the furnace is so designed that the ash fusion temperature is
not reached in side the furnace and no Slagging take place.
g) Provision for removal of ash (wet or dry) from bottom of furnace in the case of p.f.
fired boilers.
Furnace is to be well supported to withstand static load, load due to furnace pressure,
wind and seismic load but at the same time allow for free expansion due to temperature
change.
6.3.5 Operation and Maintenance:
6.3.5.1 Operation:
It is absolutely essential to keep the water level in drum (applicable to drum type boiler
alone) within prescribed level whenever fire is inside the furnace to avoid carry over,
starvation and consequent failure of furnace wall tubes. In modern boilers, automatic
control systems are incorporated to maintain practically constant level in drum at all
operating conditions which is also essential for maintaining the steam purity.
Water level has to be cross-checked at least once a shift with the help of direct level
indicator and compared with the control room instrument. Before lighting up the boiler
the operator should check the water level in the upper drum by blowing down the water
column in the gauge glass. Several blow down at low pressure during starting will
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facilitate cleaning of foreign materials in gauge glass, valves, and line. But blow-downs
of gauge glass during normal operation should be kept minimum to protect the gauge
glass.
The expansion of furnace walls should be watched carefully during start-up. The
difference in expansion between different corners at the same plane or expansion
prevention above a certain rise in temperature will indicate the restriction. If this is not
immediately investigated and rectified it will result in major failure.
Since the design heat transfer rates in water cooled furnaces are normally high it is
essential that the tubes be kept free from internal deposits of salt, copper and iron oxide.
This is accomplished by proper boiler water and feed water treatment (refer the chapter
water treatment for further details). Scale formation is the depositing of an insulating film
on the water side of the tube wall, which raises the hot face temperature and may result in
overheating of the tube section. Boiler water treatment is aimed to eliminate deposition of
scale forming components by substituting non-scale forming components.
Boiler blow down is used as a means of controlling the boiler water concentrations
(solids and alkalinity) and to remove sludge formation. Frequency and quantity of
blowdown depends upon local conditions such as character of the water, nature of feed
water treatment, design and rating of boiler etc. In most cases the continuous blow down
system is sufficient. In extreme cases boiler may be blow down intermittently through
other blow downs such as drum drain, down-take drains but never by the water wall
header drains. At no time should the conditions specified for an installation as to total
dissolved solids, alkalinity etc. be ignored or exceeded.
The amount and rate of slagging depends largely on type of fuel burned. The furnace
walls cannot be entirely kept free from deposit but should be kept reasonably clean.
Heavy local accumulations should be avoided by proper use of soot blowing equipment.
Use of wall blowers should be restricted to the affected areas only.
Flame inside the furnace should be watched and taken care to keep them off from
impinging on furnace walls. The selection of burners and loading is to be done such that
the heat loading is uniform in furnace. This is best accomplished in the corner fired boiler
by operating tierwise. The peep holes and view holes in the furnace should always be
kept closed except during flame viewing. The leakage of air through furnace should be
avoided.
The rate of raising or lowering of boiler parameters (saturation temperature in most
cases) should be strictly restricted to or below the specified value for the boiler. Bring the
boiler into service and loading at faster rate are advantageous for the time being but
detrimental to life of the equipment. It has been found that some of the operating staff
have the tendency to bring the boiler to rated at faster rate than permissible to satisfy the
higher level and no defect is being revealed in near future. This practice should be strictly
stopped on total economy basis considering the reduction of life of boiler.
The fatigue failure of fusion welded tubes in open hopper type can occur when the tubes
are subjected to direct contact with relatively cold ash hopper water. This should be
avoided by proper inspection.
6.3.5.2 Maintenance:
Routine inspection of furnace is necessary to detect the troubles in the early stages and
also to correct possible faults in firing, combustion, circulation, soot blowers etc., before
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serious damage can result. The procedure adopted during annual overhauls will vary
according to design and to operating history of individual boilers but extreme vigilance is
necessary throughout the whole life of a boiler.
The first step after taking a boiler out of service for overhaul or after some failure is to
inspect the furnace carefully before any cleaning is carried out. Information can be gained
from deposits adhering to walls and tubes as to possible defects. The deposit formation
may reveal following vital points: condition and alignment of burners, flame distribution
and impingement on walls, effect of different coals, corrective measure necessary in
operation and most suitable method and extent of cleaning process needed.
The second stage of inspection is carried out after thoroughly cleaning all surfaces. This
time it is for checking deterioration of burners, wall tube brick work etc. Repairs to
furnace will be undertaken during annual overhauls on a scale sufficient to ensure the
trouble-free operation of furnace until the next overhaul period.
Bare tube water cooled furnace requires minimum maintenance if boiler circulation and
water treatment are correct and there is no overheating due to flame impingement. To
remove the internal deposit from the tubes may require acid cleaning after a considerable
operating time in boiler subject to water condition conducive to scale or oxide deposition.
If external erosion of tubes noticed, cause may be traced and rectified. In most of the
cases it may be due to wrong directional angle of soot blowers.
Bowing of a single tube furnace may be due to overheating and coming out of the
support. But row of tubes or panel bowing may be due to obstruction to expansion
movement. In case of severe damage, the tubes are to be replaced after rectifying the
cause of bowing.
A tube section which has failed or which must be replaced because of danger of failure
can in most cases easily be replaced. After removing the furnace wall insulation behind
the failed area, the tube section is removed by cutting across the tube, sufficiently above
and below the failure. Before inserting and rewelding a new tube section the tube ends
should be prepared for welding. After testing the welding the insulation must be put back
and casing work completed in such a way that no air leakage through casing is possible.
All repairs should be done by competent and qualified personnel and all welding be in
accordance with recommended procedure acceptable to boiler Inspector and Indian Boiler
Rules.
6.4 Cyclone Furnace:

Cyclone furnace firing, developed in the 1940s, represents one of the most significant
steps in coal firing since the introduction of pulverised coal firing in the 1920s. It is now
widely used to burn poorer grades of coal having high ash and moisture content. Biofuels
like rice husks can also be successfully burned in cyclone furnaces for steam generation.
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Fig. 23
The cyclone is essentially a water-cooled horizontal cylinder (Fig. 23) located outside the
main boiler furnace, in which crushed coal (60 mm size or less) is fed and fired with very
high rates of heat release. The cyclone is made to a diameter of 1.8-4 m and its length is
1.2-1.3 times its diameter. The crushed coal is fed into the cyclone from the left along
with primary air, which is about 20 percent of combustion or secondary air. The coal air
mixture is entered tangentially, thus imparting a centrifugal motion to the coal particles.
The secondary air is also admitted tangentially at the top of the cyclone at high speed (80-
120 m/s) imparting further centrifugal motion. A small quantity of air, called tertiary air,
is admitted at the centre. Combustion of the coal is completed before the resulting hot
gases enter the boiler furnace. The whirling motion of coal and air results in large
volumetric heat release rates ranging from 4.7 to 8.3 MW/m3 and high combustion
temperatures, more than 1650ºC. These high temperatures melt the ash into a liquid slag
that covers the surface of the furnace bottom, where it is solidified and fragmented for
removal.
The main advantage of cyclone firing is the removal of ash, about 60 percent, as molten
slag through the slag tank. Thus only 40 percent ash leaves with flue gases, compared
with 85 percent ash for dry-bottom pulverised coal furnaces, this reduces erosion and
fouling of boiler surfaces as well as the size of dust-removal precipitators or bag houses
at boiler exit. Another advantage is that only crushed coal is used and no pulverization
equipment is needed and that the boiler size is reduced. The disadvantages are higher
forced draught fan pressures and therefore, higher power requirement, and formation of
relatively more oxides of nitrogen, Nox, which are air pollutants.
7.0 Fluidized Bed Combustion of Solid Fuels

In its simplest arrangement, the fluidized bed consists of inert particles such as sand,
through which fluidizing air can be passed via a distributor plate at the bottom (Fig. 24).
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Fig. 24
The bed normally contains only a small percentage of burning fuel, about 1 or 2%, so that
the inert particles carry the heat away from the burning particles, thus keeping their
temperature below that at which ash melts. The temperature of the bed when burning
solid fuels is commonly controlled to about 850ºC. So, heat is required to be removed
from the bed by installing cooling tubes. The bed temperature during start-up should be
raised to the solid fuel ignition temperature, which may vary from 450ºC to 500ºC
depending upon the type of fuel by burning fuel gas or oil in the bed (Fig. 25). The
initiated input to the bed by burning gas or oil is gradually reduced till the main fuel starts
to deliver heat and self-sustaining combustion is established.
Fig. 25
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Flue gas desulphurization is achieved by adding a sorbent such as limestone or dolomite
to the fluidized bed, where sulphur is absorbed in a solid form. This sorbent is used as the
bed material into which fuel is fed. A combustion temperature of 850ºC is about the
optimum for absorption of sulphur oxides by the lime, and the residence time of lime in
the bed is long. The amount of sorbent required to absorb about 90% of the sulphur in the
fuel needs a calcium-sulphur molar ratio of about 3.
Fluidized bed systems are generally smaller for a given output than conventional
equipment. The firing rate (MW/m2 of a bubbling fluidized bed boiler having cooling
tubes in the bed can be upto 50% larger. Fluidized beds can burn a wide variety of fuels
quite efficiently. Indeed, with some low-grade fuels and wastes, e.g. colliery tailings,
fluidized bed combustion is the only way they can be burned satisfactorily. The relatively
good mixing of particles and gas promoted by bubbling action provides good conditions
for both combustion and heat transfer.
7.1 Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion:

Pressurised fluidised bed combustion (PFBC) technology allows power to be generated
from coal cleanly and efficiently. A fluidised bed boiler, operating within a large pressure
vessel, burns coal in the presence of air and a calcium-based sorbent, such as limestone or
dolomite at pressures of 1.2-1.6 MPa. Sulphur released during combustion reacts with the
sorbent, thereby reducing SO2 emissions. A high combustion efficiency can be achieved
at a lower temperature than in a pulverised coal boiler and this significantly inhibits NOx
formation. The already low NO x levels can be reduced further by injecting ammonia into
the PFBC boiler. Having the pollution control built into the boiler eliminates the need for
back-end cleanup and reduces the plant capital cost. A further advantage of the low
operating temperatures is that furnace slagging and fouling problems are avoided. After
removing the majority of the entrained dust, the hot pressurised flue gases are used to
drive a gas turbine. At the same time, steam generated in the boiler drives a steam
turbine. It is this combination of gas and steam turbines that allows the PFBC plant to
generate electricity with an efficiency of more than 44% (LHV).
Combustion of Fuel Particles in a Fluidized Bed

The sequence of events and temperature history of a single burning particle of solid fuel
in a fluidized bed at 850ºC is shown in Fig. 26. Initially, the moisture is given off and the
temperature of the solid fuel particles rises as it is heated by inter particle convection, gas
convection and radiation. The temperature of the fuel particle soon reaches a value at
which volatile matter is released.
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Fig. 26
The residue left after devolatilization is char, which is essentially porous carbon with
some ash bound to it, with the degree of porosity depending on the type of fuel. Once the
ignition temperature is reached, the char begins to burn. As seen in Fig. 26, the time
required to burn the particle out is much longer than the time required to devolatilize. The
mass and size of the char particle diminishes with the progress of combustion, as well as
by attrition and fragmentation till the particle becomes small enough to be elutriated from
the bed.
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EXAMPLES
Q. What causes heavy black smoke when fuel oil is burnt? (09.02.1988)
A. The main causes which tends to heavy black smoke are

i) If the fuel oil is not properly prepared i.e. temperature and viscosity of fuel oil is not
as per the requirement,
ii) Guns are not in clean condition,
iii) Air supplied is insufficient and
iv) Atomization in fuel oil is poor.
Q. What is the effect of moisture and sediments in oil burning? (09.08.1988)
A. The moisture in fuel oil when burnt is converted into steam, which then carry the heat to
the chimney & is a direct loss to boiler. Also too large moisture content sometimes
result in lowering of the burning temperature, improper combustion, choking of burner
tips and erosion & corrosion of boiler parts like Air preheater, ID fan, chimney internal,
ducts etc.
Sediments in fuel oil are nothing but incombustible which lowers the calorific value of
fuel, choke burners & form slag & deposits on the outer surfaces of the various tubes
thereby lowering the heat transfer.
Q. In pulverized coal firing, which principal pulverizers are used?
A. The types of pulverizers commonly used are ball, bowl, impact, ring roll & ball race
types.
Q. What is the function of a fuel oil burner?
A. Fuel oil burners atomize oil into fine spray which when mixed with air forms a
combustible mixture and when ignited produces intense heat. Finer the spray, more
readily the oil will ignite to attain good combustion. Poor atomization causes heavy
carbon deposits.
Q. What is turn-down ratio?
A. Turn down ratio is the ratio of maximum to minimum load in a burner. Thus, it is the
ability of a burner to produce good combustion even at low loads. If a turndown ratio
is of 3:1, it means that even at 33% of the maximum rating, atomization of oil will be
efficient.
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Q. What are the causes of flame impingement in oil firing? Is it harmful?
A. Flame impingement occurs when

1) The burner is not correctly centered
2) The burner tip gets partially choked
3) Atomized oil strike the furnace plate
4) Improper combustion takes place due to faulty design of a burner installation.
Flame impingement is very much harmful to boiler components. It causes local
overheating of the metal as water circulation is not fast enough to keep the temperature of
the metal within the safe limits. Flame impingement on water tubes may cause bulging
and subsequent rapture.
Q. Why coke deposits are formed in oil fired furnace?
A. When oil droplets as a result of poor atomizing, delayed combustion etc., hit colder
surfaces, the conversion process gets retarded and oil coke deposits are formed.
Q. When a boiler is switched over from fuel oil to natural gas firing, heat absorption in the
furnace space decreases. Why?
A. Flames produced by natural gas have lower emissivity than those produced by fuel oil
upon combustion. Since the mode of heat transfer within the furnace space is of radiative
type, decrease in flame emissivity results in lowering of the heat absorption rate.
Q. What do we mean by fuel bed firing on stoker fired steam generator? (02.09.1997)
A. In fuel bed firing, fuel is pushed, dropped, or thrown on a grate in a high temperature
region within the furnace. Air flows upward the grate and through the fuel bed that forms
on it. The green coal is heated, volatile matter distills off and coke is left on the grate. As
the coke burn to a mixture of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, ash remains. The
volatile matter of the coal and the carbon monoxide from the coke, burn over the fuel bed
with air that has come up through it. Usually, secondary air is admitted to the furnace
over the grate. Thus anywhere from 40 to 60% of the coal’s heat is liberated over the fuel
bed. So burning of gases is a big part of the job even with fuel-bed firing.
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EXAMLES FOR PRACTICE
Q.1 What is meant by boiler purging?
Q.2 What are the advantages of using pulverized fuel?
Q.3 What is the advantage of a tilting burner with pulverized fuel?
Q.4 What is the purpose of a classifier in a P.F. mill?
Q.5 What are pre-combustion problems before oil is fired?
Q.6 Before turning a boiler, which items should be checked?
Q.7 What conditions are necessary to cause thermal explosions? Name the common type of
furnace explosion. (03.08.1999)
Q.8 What is fluidized bed combustion? State its advantages. (11.10.1995) / (09.08.1988)
Q.9 Name the different types of stokers used in boiler furnace and explain any one of them
(17.03.1994)
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ASSESSMENT SHEET
Q.1 Why preheating of oil is necessary?
Q.2 Describe in short the problem faced in mechanical stokers?
Q.3 What is the principle of a cyclone furnace and how does it differ from a P.F. furnace?
Q.4 What is the purpose of the circulating ring main pipe system in an oil fired system?
Q.5 What constituents in oil fuel are likely to cause trouble?
Q.6 What is the use of strainers (filters) in oil fuel system?
Q.7 The best suited coal for chain or traveling grate stoker boiler is
a) Caking coal
b) Non caking or free burning coal
c) Pulverized coal
d) High sulphur coal
e) Least ash content coal (02.09.1997)
Q.8 Write short notes on the following boiler problem, stating its reasons and remedial
actions to be taken to prevent it;
“Explosion in oil/gas fired boilers during restarting immediately after tripping.”
(08-08-2000)
Q/9 What are the various types of furnaces?
Q.10 In pulverized coal firing, what are the advantages of tangential firing?
Page 48 of 48

CH-7 Firing in Boilers & Types of Furnaces

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CH-7 Firing in Boilers & Types of Furnaces

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TUTORIAL FOR SECOND CLASS BOILER ENGINEER’S PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION

1.0 Coal Firing:

1.3 Stoker firing system:

1.3.1 Chain Grate Stokers:

1.3.2 Multiple Retort Stoker (Taylor Stoker Type):

1.3.3 Spreader Stokers:

1.3.4 Cyclone Furnace:

1.4 Pulverized Coal Firing:

1.4.1 Types of Pulverised Fuel Furnaces:

1.4.2 Detailed methods of firing can be divided into:

1.4.2.1 Horizontal firing:

1.4.2.2 Vertical firing:

1.4.2.3 Tangential firing:

1.4.3 Advantages of tangential firing:

1.5 Fluidized Bed Combustion:

2.0 Flame Monitoring Equipment:

3.0 Coal Pulverisers:

3.1 Types Of Pulverisers (Depending on speed):

3.1.1 Low speed mill:

Example of Low Speed Pulveriser

3.1.2 Medium speed mills :

Example of medium Speed Mills

3.1.3 High speed mill

Example of High Speed Mills

3.2 Code of Practice with Pulverised Fuel Operation:

3.2.2 General Precautions:

3.2.3 Conditions to be observed immediately prior to lighting up a Furnace:

3.2.4 Lighting Up A Furnace

3.2.5 When bringing additional Burners and Mills into Service:

3.2.6 Loss of ignition on load:

3.2.7 When Shutting Down a Boiler:

4.0 Firing with Oil Fuel:

4.1 Fuel Oil Systems:

The calorific value of oil fuel is higher than coal because:

4.1.2 Problems arising prior to burning of oils (pre combustion problems):

4.1.4 Post combustion problems:

4.1.5 Low temperature corrosion in furnace:

4.1.7 After a boiler is fired check the following:

4.1.8 For start up following steps must be taken:

4.1.9 For shut down following steps must be taken :

4.3 Oil Burners:

4.4 Selection of burners:

4.5 Classification of burners:

4.5.1 Horizontal rotary cup Burner:

4.5.2 Twin Fluid Atomiser:

4.5.3 The Pressure Jet Burner:

4.5.3.1 Sonic Burner:

5.0 Firing of Gas:

5.1 Combined gas fuel oil burners:

1 Annular gas channel

2 Fuel oil burner

4 Air control gate valve

5 Flame protecting disc of gas

7 Air supply to cool the head

6.2 Different Parts of a Furnace:

6.2.1 Firebox or combustion chamber:

6.2.2 Furnace Wall Tubes :

6.3 Different Type of Furnace:

6.3.1 P.F. Fired Dry Bottom Furnaces:

6.3.2 Slag type or wet bottom furnace:

6.3.2.1 Advantages of slag bottom type furnaces:

6.3.2.2 Disadvantages of slag bottom type furnace